Chilean Civil War

The Chilean Civil War was an internal conflict within the Captaincy-General of Chile fought between pro-Spanish Royalists and pro-independence Republicans/Patriots. The 1814 civil war left the Spanish and Royalists in control of Chile, and their chief opponent Bernardo O'Higgins was forced to flee to Argentina with the remnants of his army.

Background
On 18 September 1810, the Captaincy-General of Chile was faced by an internal revolt by pro-independence patriots led by Bernardo O'Higgins and Juan MacKenna, among other commanders, and the First Republic of Chile was founded with Santiago de Chile as its capital. The Spanish dispatched a field army under Mariano Osorio to crush the rebellion.

War
The Patriots defeated the Royalists at the Battle of El Roble in 1813 and Membrillar in 1814, but they lost many battles to the Royalists and the Spanish government. The Chileans held out for more than a year, but they were slowly defeated and at the Battle of Rancagua in October Mariano Osorio defeated O'Higgins. A few days later the Royalists occupied Santiago de Chile, forcing Bernardo O'Higgins and the remnants of his army to flee to Argentina.